The Souvenir might be referred to as the anti-romantic-drama, where every common highlight in two lovers’ drawn-out connection is completely glossed over, ultimately depicting the less “talked about” events of a realistic relationship—as depressing as that sounds. Joanna Hogg’s polarizing feature film, however, shouldn’t primarily be applauded because it’s different, but it should be honored for how freakishly invasive its encapsulation of love is. Instead of telling a story through physical on-screen incidents, it lets the audience itself describes it through wary assumptions—which is the scariest possible method you could use when taking on such a relatable tale as this.
But yeah, secondly, this is like the most INDIE indie film I‘ve ever seen. The main character is an aspiring filmmaker, the whole thing is obviously shot on film, it was produced on low-budget material, there’s historical footage interludes, the score utilizes some opera, there’s a lot of wine and suits in it, and it’s 100% talking. Very cool, A24.
Though, this film is wonderfully beautiful from a visual standpoint. Very cool, David Raedeker. The movie is quite meta as well—it constantly seems to be referring to its own peculiar existence in most of the character’s dialogue. Very cool, Joanna Hogg.
Wait. They’re making The Souvenir Part II? Very cool, again, Joanna Hogg.
Verdict: B
“The Souvenir” is now available to stream on Vudu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Google Play.
Burning the Celluloid 
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